Trapped
by Great Mistake
Summary: When four friends are trapped in cave, they'll have to work together to survive and escape. However, there are some minor set-backs: one is hot-headed and angered easily, one has a broken leg, and one can go insane at any moment. How will they survive each other? -Hiatus-
1. Chapter 1

**Trapped**

* * *

_Drip_

"Wha. . ."

_Drip_

"No, don't. . . I'm too tired."

_Drip_

"Stop pouring water on me, guys."

_Drip_

Daisy's eyes fluttered open as she sat up with rage, "Would you cut it out already?!"

She looked around. There was no one near her. It was dark, and not your average every-day darkness; it was _advanced_ darkness. Daisy couldn't see her own hands in front of her face.

A small drop of water landed on her nose. She looked up to see a metal spike dripping with water.

"Hello?" She called around her, "Anyone here?"

Nope. No one, just as she thought.

The princess stood up and started to feel her way around. The surface was hard and rocky. It was a cave. Daisy sighed. Of all places to be locked in, she was in a cave.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

* * *

Peach was limp on the ground. She couldn't feel anything. It was dark all around her, and she felt no presence either. She was alone.

Peach tried to stand up, but a stinging bolt of pain shot straight through her right leg and she fell to the floor. She grabbed her knee and held it close to her chest. Her right leg was throbbing. The bright color it once had turned to vein-like blue and purple. Just as she had thought, her leg was broken.

"Hello? Anyone here?"

Peach could hear a voice in the distance. Her first thought was to shout "Over here!" and wave her hand, hoping that the person would see her white glove. However, her gut told her to keep quiet, thinking that whoever it was, was evil.

But, no - the first thing Peach did was scream bloody murder out of the pain she felt in her leg.

That drew the traveler's attention.

* * *

Mario grabbed the rusted pickaxe in front of him. He broke off the metal top and clicked two pieces of charcoal together. A fire erupted between the two rocks and he lit the wood on fire.

The plumber began his search for the others. He knew that they were around here somewhere. He couldn't have directed them too far off.

"Mario?"

Mario stopped, startled, and turned around. "There you are!" He said that with slight relief and annoyance. "Why do always hide from me?"

Luigi's expression was blank. "Why are we here?"

"Don't you remember? We went to save the princess and we got trapped in this cave, since 'the great and powerful' Bowser caused an avalanche."

Luigi turned pale. "So, we're trapped in here?"

Mario shrugged, "Yeah. But not for long."

Luigi shook his head. "No. I don't think you know what this means."

"It just means that this is just an inconvenience. We'll get out of it, like we always have." Mario arched an eyebrow. "Why are you getting all worked up about this?"

Luigi ran over to the other side of the cave. Mario followed him, telling him to stop. Luigi ignored him, until he stood before a rock wall. Mario stopped behind him, taking a good look.

Luigi only glared at him from the corner of his eye. "You call this an inconvenience, bro?"

"Well. . ." Mario was at a loss for words.

Luigi punched at the wall, but only pebbles from the ceiling came down. "We're going to die."

Mario walked towards his brother. "C'mon. Don't say that. We won't die in here."

Luigi's eyes lit up, and a grin formed on his face. "No. . . _We _won't. Only you will."

Mario took a step back.

Luigi turned around and his eyes began to change from a cheery blue to a ghastly white.

"I'm sorry, but it's survival of the fittest -"

Mario took another step back and Luigi took one step forward.

"And I don't want to die."

"You wouldn't kill me!"

Luigi stopped and his grin disappeared. His shoulders relaxed and the brothers were still. Mario knew that Luigi frequently had his little moments of insanity, but he had never seen anything like this. Luigi would normally go on rage or stab pillows during this kind of time, but they only had each other right now. Mario would have to shout in order to snap Luigi out of it, and this time, he prayed that it worked.

Luigi's expression was blank again, but his eyes remained the same white color.

Mario breathed heavily, "You wouldn't kill your own brother."

Luigi's eyes darted to Mario's height. The grin returned abruptly and his eyes had narrowed.

He lunged at Mario, "I guess we'll find out!"

* * *

**Well, that escalated quickly. It went from Daisy waking up and finding Peach to Luigi wanting to kill Mario to survive. I was NOT expecting to write something this dark, but we'll see if people actually like it. I doubt it. I'm pretty sure that if you want people reading dark Mario fan fictions, you have to write them for the M-rating, but I just wanted to keep it T. Trying my luck, I guess. **

**Anyhow, credits to TreehousesAndApplepies for inspiring me. Please read her Lost: The Princesses Edition story! It's really good, and possibly better than the crap I'm writing.**

**Well, I guess I'm going to wait and see how many people actually like this story. I mean, whatever the case, I'm still going to update it, but I like to just see the results. **

**- Great Mistake**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Oh gosh, oh gosh," Daisy knelt down to Peach, who was still huddled into a ball. "What happened?" Daisy could barely get the words out. "Your leg," she pointed, "What happened to you leg?"

"I don't know!" Peach exclaimed in between short breaths, "I woke up and my leg was broken like this!" Even keeping the limb up right was a painful objective. Peach's leg was found twisted in a position that no leg should ever be twisted in. The worst thing was, though, that she didn't remember how she even ended up with the injury. "Augh," she groaned, "It really hurts, Daisy."

"I know it does. I know." Daisy instantly remembered when she had twisted her ankle while playing tennis once. The pain was always the first thing on her mind, no matter how hard she may have tried to push it back. It could only be numbed every so often, so not to get herself hooked on pain-killers.

This time, Daisy didn't have any pain-killers; nor did she have doctors that knew what they were doing, or at least a splint to keep Peach's leg in place.

Peach gasped for air and shut her eyes tightly, cringing from the pain. "I-I don't think I'll make it –"

"Don't say that!" Daisy snapped. She looked around frantically. She still couldn't see a thing in the darkness. "You're just being nervous." She returned her gaze to the princess. "Don't let it get to you. We'll be fine."

Daisy smiled and patted Peach's hand gently.

That was the first time in a long time that Daisy had lied to her friend.

* * *

"Let go of me! Let go of me!"

Luigi grabbed both of Mario's arms and pushed them against his chest, restricting his upper-body from doing anything to protect himself. Mario was pushed back against a boarded-up wooden archway, where behind it lay a mineshaft, closed for about ten years now.

Mario had tossed the torch a few feet away from them, hoping that if Luigi wanted to attack him, he would need the torch nearby, allowing Mario to run and hide in the dark. However, that plan didn't work well, seeing as how Luigi could still see what he was doing with the torch a safe distance away from him.

The head of the pickaxe Mario had used was to the side of Luigi, and he looked at with a thought of finishing what he had started. He put an arm to Mario's throat, strangling him and keeping him in place. With Mario gasping for air and clawing at his arm, Luigi bent to the side to grab the head of the pickaxe. Mario acted quickly and slammed his knee into his brother's face, knocking him back and sending him the ground.

Mario ran into the dark, not looking back, _not looking back_.

It wasn't long before Mario reached the rock barrier and had no choice but to wait and hope that his brother wouldn't find him.

-page break-

Daisy trudged through the dark with Peach in her arms and leaning to the right side of the cave. "Geeze, Peach, you're heavy."

"Sorry," the princess replied softly. "I'll try not to move around so much."

"Well, whatever." Daisy huffed as she said that. She found that those two words were her new response to everything now. Strange thing to think of at the moment, but it was true. "We'll get outta this mess soon enough." Then under her breath she said: "I hope we do."

Daisy leaned to the right side to see if she could prove that keeping to your right would get you out of a maze. However, this wasn't a maze and the theory had most likely been proven before. That didn't stop the flower princess from trying, though.

After a while of walking in silence, the two came to a dead end. It was a rock barrier, where all the large boulders fit perfectly together like Tetris blocks; a barrier that split the long, wide, and dark cave into two.

Daisy put Peach down gently and felt around the wall. She didn't feel any exit. "No," she stepped back and shook her head. "No, no, no!"

"What's wrong?"

"We're blocked." She put a hand on the wall and tried putting her weight on the rocks, hoping they would budge. _Nada_. Daisy groaned, "It's the end of the road."

"It can't be!" Peach said frantically. "You promised we would be fine when we got out!"

Daisy ignored the princess and kept pushing herself on the rocks, but to no avail.

On the other side, Mario was backed up as far as he could be against the barrier. Luigi began to draw near him, and Mario could tell from the dim light coming from the torch. The head of the pickaxe was in one hand, the torch in another. Luigi's vision was still slightly blurred, but it didn't cause much of a problem. With no other ideas and pure fear beginning to take over his body, Mario let out a scream.

Peach and Daisy picked up their heads, "Mario?"

Peach moved closer to the barrier and pounded her fist on a boulder. "Mario! We're here! Help! Help us!"

Luigi paid no attention to the princess' plea and drew back his arm, aiming at Mario's head.

"WAIT!" Mario held his hands up in surrender, gasping for air as he did so.

Luigi kept his stance.

The last thing he could do was reason with the man. Mario raised his voice loud enough for the princess to hear. "Luigi, behind this wall is the princess." He inhaled before continuing. "If you kill me, I will never see her again." Wiping the blood from his lip, Mario made eye contact with his brother, "Is that what you want?"

Luigi didn't hesitate to reply. "Honestly, I don't care –"

Daisy gasped at the sound of Luigi's voice. The shy, timid, hesitant, and nervous Luigi killing his own brother? _Bullshit_.

"– Less weight to haul around."

This wasn't Luigi, and Daisy had half a mind _not_ to slap him right across his mustached face.

"SNAP OUT OF IT, LUIGI!" Daisy screamed out of shock and control.

A loud clacking sound was made on the other side of the rock barrier. The head of the pickaxe was dropped to the floor.

Luigi's eyes regained their natural ocean blue color and he stood there, looking around confused. He grabbed his head as his vision rendered. "Dai – Daisy?"

Mario sighed with relief, but he knew that this was just the calm before the storm. Luigi registered the situation and fell to his knees. His hands covered his face as he groaned. His hands ran through his hair as he looked at his terrified brother. "We're still stuck in here, aren't we?"

Mario nodded, still too shaken to give a full response.

Daisy called from the other side, "Guys, we still got a little problem here."

"What?" Mario called back.

"Peach's leg is broken. Real bad, too."

"No, no. It's _not_ that bad! Don't worry about me. It doesn't even hurt." Peach's confidence was short-lived as she let out a small whimper and cringed.

Mario stood up and looked around. "We can't get past this barrier, though."

Luigi remained on his knees. "Of course," he mumbled, "You'll always jump through hoops for the princess, wouldn't you?"

A boulder on the bottom shifted in place. It was loose. Mario looked behind him, "The pickaxes. If we can just get some leverage and get one out, the rest will fall down with it."

Luigi tilted his head. "Would that even that work?"

"Nothing to lose at this point, bro," Mario began walking towards the old mine shaft. "Stay there."

Luigi stood up and walked over to the barrier. He leaned on it and crossed his arms. "I'm not usually one to question, but Daisy, why are you here?" He remembered Mario and he were on a mission to save the princess once again, but he didn't recall Daisy tagging along.

Daisy looked down in shame. "It's a long story, Luigi…"

"We have time."

She exhaled, closing her eyes and putting her hand to her head. "I'd rather not explain it right now, sweetie."

"I just want to know why –"

"Luigi," Daisy snapped.

He closed his mouth.

Peach tugged on Daisy's dress and gave her a look that said _'What's wrong?'_

Daisy ignored, and anyway, she couldn't see what face Peach was making this time.

Mario returned with a pickaxe in hand. He hit the boulder and shoved the tip of the head deep inside the crevice. Luigi stood to the side, startled since Mario gave no warning.

The boulder began to shift out of place. Mario twisted the pick this way and that, watching as the boulder slowly moved out of the barrier.

_Clack_

The tip of the pickaxe broke. Mario cursed under his breath and used the other side. Luigi got down and began pulling the boulder out.

After a few moments of pulling and twisting, the boulder was free and the barrier began to fall apart.

Daisy looked up and stepped back. She grabbed Peach and carried her away. The barrier fell to the ground and only piles of rocks and boulders were left. The four were reunited quickly in the dim light of the torch.

* * *

"We've been walking for hours now," Daisy complained.

"It's only been twenty minutes, Daisy," Peach rolled her eyes. She tightened her grip on the back of Mario's shirt.

Mario set Peach down for a second, stretched, then picked her up again. "We just need to keep going until we reach the entrance to the cave."

"What about going back that way?" Peach pointed in the direction of the mine shaft.

"Nothing but old mining grounds back there." Daisy cracked her knuckles.

Luigi switched the torch from one hand to the other. _How did she know that?_

"Yeah," Mario agreed. "There's nothing for us back there. We have to go north and hope for the best."

"But I doubt the torch will last that long," Luigi objected. The flame was consuming the wood faster than expected.

Mario looked around. He assumed that they couldn't be that far away from the exit. "Then we'll set up camp here for the night."

"If it's even night time," Daisy scoffed. "We've lost all contact to the outside world, have no idea as to what time it is, and have no means of survival."

"Don't say that," Mario said while he set Peach down.

"Have any one of you been in this situation before?"

Not a peep.

"Thought so."

Mario grabbed the torch from his brother and threw it down. He took two rocks and clicked them together. A flame erupted. "That doesn't mean that we don't know how to survive."

He threw the rocks on the torch, creating a stable fire that would last them for a while.

"I'll go get some more wood," Mario volunteered. "You guys stay here."

Daisy sat down, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are we going to eat?"

"There's nothing _to_ eat, Daisy," Peach replied.

"Unless rocks are part of your diet. There are plenty of rocks to eat," Luigi joked.

Daisy glared at him. His smile faded.

* * *

The fire popped. Mario tossed spare planks and broken pickaxe handles to the side of the group. "We'll have to take shifts if we don't want to wake up in the dark."

"I'll go first," Daisy raised her hand lamely.

"Me next," Peach called out.

"I'll go," Luigi murmured.

"Good. Then it's back to me." Mario sat down. "Keep your eyes open for a while Daisy. Just tag Peach when you're ready."

Daisy nodded.

He lay down. "G'night."

Luigi curled up into a ball-like position, which he found comfortable. "Night, guys."

"Good night, Mario, Luigi." Peach looked over to Daisy.

"Rest well, princess." Daisy smirked.

"Oh, I'm not going to be sleeping. Not with this pain. I'll take your shift for you, if you'd like."

Daisy smiled, "Really?"

"What are friends for?" Peach shrugged, smiling back.

Daisy yawned. "Thanks, Peach. I owe you one." The flower princess fell back and slowly closed her eyes. "'Night, Peachy."

"Good night, Daisy."

The princess stayed awake as long as she could. Although the pain was almost unbearable, she had a tiresome day. She fed the fire half a wood plank before her eyes closed shut.

The fire was slowly dying as the four slept soundly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Luigi was the first one to wake up. He looked around and saw at least two or three flames burning in the fire pit. "Oh great, I missed my shift!" He looked around him. Everyone else was still fast asleep, possibly dreaming of getting out of this mess. "No, I didn't," he corrected himself quietly. "Peach was supposed to tell me to wake up, and she didn't. So, no one can say that it was my fault."

He blinked and grabbed his head. "And I'm talking to myself again."

Daisy grabbed a rock, thinking it was a pillow, and threw it in Luigi's general direction. "Shut up, will ya?!"

Luckily, he ducked just in time. "Watch it, Daisy!"

Daisy shot up. "Well you're the one who's waking everyone up!" She looked at the fire. "Holy crap! What happened?!"

Luigi held his hands up in surrender. "Not my fault."

Peach lifted herself up, "What's with all the –" She looked at the fire and remembered the previous night's events. She had fallen asleep before even waking anyone up to take her shift. The fire must've died down while they were all sleeping.

Peach kept quiet, hoping that no one would accuse the girl with the broken leg.

Mario was the last one up, disturbed by all the commotion. "What happened now?"

"Luigi let the fire die!" Daisy shouted, pointing at the suspect.

"I did not! No one woke me up!"

"Does that even matter? You were supposed to wake up when it was your turn!"

"Do you think I have some kind of biological clock that was meant to wake me up?"

"No," Daisy paused. "But you were the last one to go!"

"No, Mario was."

They both looked at Mario. He looked at them. "Look, arguing is not going to –" He was cut off abruptly by Daisy.

"It's your fault! All your fault!" She pointed at him and glared. "_You_ were the one that tossed us in here! _You_ were the one that got up yesterday morning and saved Peach! You, you, _YOU_!"

"What was I going to do? Stand there and watch her die?" Mario growled.

Peach looked at him for a second, with a blank stare. She didn't know what to consider that outburst – a compliment or some sort of weird threat?

"And anyway," he continued, "You didn't come with us. I didn't toss you in here! You were here already! Why are you blaming me?" He stopped, then thought of a better question. "Why are you even here?"

Daisy stood up. Her face flushed as she spat out the words: "LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU BASTARD!"

And she ran, back towards the mines, away from the group, into the darkness.

Luigi was the first one to react, calling her name. He looked back at Mario and Peach, then stood up. He followed her, calling her name over and over, telling her to stop.

And two were left.

Peach turned her head over to face Mario. He kept his head down, but he knew she was looking at him. "I just. . ." he trailed off, looking for the right words, but he found nothing.

"Mario, it's just her temper. She'll come back eventually. Especially since Luigi is looking for her."

He looked up, his eyes wide. Luigi could snap at any minute, and with Daisy around, there was no telling what he could do.

Mario stood up and started walking back. "Just stay there! I'll be back in a minute!"

"Wait!" Peach put her hand out, but it was no use. He was too far away.

Over the years, Peach had built up the fear of being alone. Monophobia, as it was called. Since Bowser had left her alone in so many places, she started to feel weird and get dizzy. Strange things would happen whenever she was left alone. Strange things would happen around her and to her.

It only took a few minutes before the strange things started happening.

Her vision began to blur.

Her heart started to beat funny.

She looked at fire, but it was almost dead. Nothing but ashes left in its place.

Her breathing pace changed. She was hyperventilating.

The walls.

_The walls._

Closing in on her.

She was going to be crushed.

Arms. . . Shadowy arms, reaching out, welcoming her to death.

Her head began to pound.

Peach let out a shrill scream and moved around. A bolt of pain shot up her leg, which only made her scream louder. Hot tears ran down her cheeks and then . . .

Then it all stopped.

Everything stopped in place.

Peach sat up straight and fell back, her head hitting the rocky surface.

Complete and utter darkness.

* * *

Daisy ran until she couldn't see the light of the fire behind her. She slowed down and simply began to walk. Her little quarrel with Mario was nothing more than an act, at least, to an extent. She only wanted to get away from the group and what better way to do that than build up her temper, start an argument, and run off? She was focused on getting her job done. Daisy _was_, in fact, here for a completely different reason.

The flower princess was sent here to complete a task given to her by none other than Wario. He had fought his way through security and told her that he required certain jewels that could only be found in the Dark Lands.

Daisy remembered the conversation well. She had glared at him, clenching her fists. "Why are you asking me to get them? Don't you have a whole team of thieves lined up to do your biding?"

"They're all busy doing something _else _for me," the greedy man replied with a smirk. "And anyway, if I go there by myself, well, let's just say I have quite the reputation over there. They would never suspect a doll like you to take anything from that turtle freak."

"_Excuse_ me?" Daisy's voice rose, "I am no _doll_! I'm not going to do anything for you, Wario."

"Well then," he cracked his knuckles, "I guess I should remind you of the last time you refused to do something for me."

Daisy froze. She remembered exactly what Wario was capable of. He only sent one of those alien guys to hold her hostage once.

Wario read the look her face. He smiled with triumph, "Should I call for my 'little friends' again?"

Daisy looked around. All of her subjects were cowering in fear. She rolled her eyes. There was no way that she was going to let Mario save her again, all because she refused to do something easy.

"No," the princess said. "I'll go."

Wario laughed. "Good! Off you go, toots!"

And so, here she was. Daisy had already collected the jewels, but the bag she carried them became snagged on a pickaxe left in the mines while she was trying to run out.

"You shouldn't be alone in the dark, Miss."

Daisy stood up before she could grab the leather bag. "What do you –"

In the distance, she could clearly make out the figure of Luigi. She rolled her eyes and bent bag down to grab the bag.

As she composed herself, she felt him behind her. "Why are you following me, Luigi?"

He turned her around and studied her. A purple glow illuminated from the bag. "What's in the bag?"

Daisy put the bag behind her, "None of your business."

Luigi reached behind her and snatched the bag from her hands. Before she could react, the bag was opened and the glowing jewels lit up the area. Daisy had a better look at Luigi and noticed something strange. His eyes were white, not the same dark blue she had come to love.

"Jewels? This is what you're after?" He frowned and tossed the bag to the ground, "Pa-thetic."

Daisy gasped and tried to reach down to get the bag. Luigi grabbed her arm and twisted it, making her scream and recoil.

"What's your deal, Luigi?" She rubbed her arm.

"I don't know who you're talking about, but my _deal _is that you're wasting your time trying to steal these jewels." He stepped closer, a mad grin forming on his face. "If you want some money, there's something else you could do," he stepped closer, "Something that could be more aesthetically pleasing for both you," he backed her up against a wall and put both his hands on her shoulders, "and me."

Daisy slapped him right across the face, sending him down to the rocky earth. Luigi looked up at her, first confused, then boiling up with rage. He shot up from the ground and put two hands on her neck, tightening his grip with every second. As Daisy clawed at his hands and struggled for air, she saw Mario run up to them. Luigi's eyes shifted from Daisy to his brother. He smiled, and let go of the princess. Daisy fell to the floor, gasping for air.

"Old friend! Mr. Jumps-A-Lot! It's been a while now, hasn't it?"

Mario took proper battle stance. "I've had enough of you, L. Let my baby brother go."

Mr. L laughed, "Your _baby_ _brother_? Since when did this become a family sit-com? I'm the only thing that makes your _baby brother _brave enough to fight. I'm the only thing that makes this coward suck it up and face his fears. I'm everything this loser should be, but isn't. I'm just taking what's rightfully mine." L pulled back his fist and smirked, happy to finally say these words again: "Have at you."

Mario ran towards him and jumped, aiming for the man's head. L slid to one side, dodging Mario's attack. Mario landed on his feet, looking around for the enemy. L tugged on Mario's shirt, sending him to the ground. L bent over Mario, grabbing his overall straps and standing him up. Mr. L punched him in the face. The plumber hit the wall, falling to his knees.

"Come on! That was too easy," Mr. L complained. "Can you at least try?"

Mario looked up. He wiped the blood from his lip before advancing towards the enemy. He punched Mr. L, sending him back a few inches. Mario kicked the dazed L to the ground. The plumber picked him up off the ground only to send him flying into a wall. Mario grabbed him by the shirt with a fist ready to strike before –

"MARIO!"

He turned to see Daisy in the corner. She was shivering with fear, as she had watched the whole thing. Mario let go of Luigi as he body fell to the floor. Mario stepped back. Whatever made him do these things that might have caused some damage to his brother? He was breathing heavily and a drop of blood fell on his shirt, blending in with the dark red it already was.

Daisy ran over and kneeled before Luigi. She shook him, "Wake up. Come on, sweetie, wake up!"

Luigi's eyes slowly opened. They were back to their normal shade of blue. He wiped his nose and looked at the blood smeared on his hand. "W-Wha –"

Mario didn't know what to do or what to feel. Mr. L was still floating around there somewhere, but he supposed that for now, everything was going to be okay. He helped his brother up and hugged him in the process, not saying anything.

Luigi was still confused, but for now, he just accepted it.

* * *

"Where did you find these jewels, Daisy?" Luigi asked, playing with one in his hand.

"In the mine back there," and she said nothing else about it. She was not going to share her story to these two.

The five jewels in her bag were enough to light up half the cave. Their purple glow would replace the fire they built, and now they wouldn't have to worry about shifts.

"Oh my –"

Daisy dropped her jewel and covered her mouth. The brothers looked up at the sight.

Peach was lying on the floor, unconscious. She looked pale, but she was breathing. The three rushed to her side, trying to shake her awake.

* * *

**I don't think that I could write a good fight scene to save my life. I'm not sure if I captured everything that was going on in my head when I wrote that, but I tried and no one can say I did not. The beginning of this, I feel, is forced and almost stupid, but I had nothing else. It was a minor writer's block, if you will. This chapter has been sitting in my document folder for three days, has aged well (I think), so it is ready for you: the public. **

**All reviews, criticism or not, are welcome!**

**- Great Mistake **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The pink princess remained unconscious even though Mario, Luigi, and Daisy had tried almost everything to wake her. Mario continued to shake her limp body, but Luigi and Daisy stood back. Daisy crossed her arms, blowing a few stray strands of her hair out of her eyes. "It's no use, Mario," she said. "She's out cold this time. I'm sure she'll wake up eventually."

Mario didn't say anything at first. His body tensed up as he let go of the princess. A small drop of blood dripped down from his nose and landed on her collar. He sat back, lowering his head in shame. The sun guard of his cap covered his eyes. His voice was dark and unforgiving.

"_How can you be sure?_"

Luigi took a step back. Out of the four (and possibly out of the entire kingdom) he was the only one that recognized that tone in his brother's voice. Mario rarely used it, and it was only brought about when something terrible happened – like the death of their parents. That voice frightened Luigi more than anything any Boo could muster up. He thought of it as if he was speaking to the devil himself. It was obvious to him that when this voice was in use, Mario was not _Mario_.

Daisy only provoked it more. "I know Peach like the back of my hand. She'll wake up any minute now."

"So, I assume you've seen her do this before." Mario turned his head slightly to one side, but didn't look at the others. "I also assume you know what it's like to risk your life dozens of times for the same person and then watch as they slip away."

Luigi felt his body shiver at the sound of those words. He tried to console his brother, but found that he was only backing farther away.

"Mario," Daisy's arms fell to her side, "What are you . . . Calm down."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a second, followed by a deep laughter. Daisy and Luigi looked over at the shaking figure in the dim light. Mario was laughing. The poor man had probably gone insane.

"Calm down? _Calm down?"_ Mario's voice didn't even rise to suit the level of anger he wanted to show. His voice stayed in the same octave it was already. "I don't think you know what it's like to watch a person _die_. I was standing five feet away from where my mother was killed. I watched as she died. I held her in my arms while that man got away. I could _feel _her spirit slip away from her body.

I go through hoops just so the princess doesn't have to suffer the same fate my mother did – or anyone else who's died in such a way. I go through hoops to make sure that the princess doesn't leave a whole legacy and kingdom behind so it can be ruled by an evil tyrant that doesn't know when to give up. _I go through hoops . . . _just to lose her to a damn cave."

Luigi fell to his knees and bursted into tears shortly after Mario mentioned the death of their mother. Daisy looked at the green plumber for a second. She felt sympathy for both of them, but she didn't want Mario to keel over the unconscious body of the blonde for hours on end.

"M-Maybe we can find some water to wake her up," Daisy suggested as she twirled around in search of the wet spike that woke her up. "I know there's some around here." She paused, expecting a response from him, but nothing came.

Daisy looked up to the ceiling, holding one of the purple jewels up so she could see well. After walking a little bit farther from the group, she tripped over something. Letting out a small squeal, she landed on her palms, scrapping them on the pebbles. She rolled over to one side, looking at the small, square-shaped rock that tripped her. Crawling over to it, she noticed black foam in the middle of it. The object looked too familiar, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

She reached out to touch it, but as she did a disembodied voice boomed within the cave.

"Well, it seems as if you're found out my little secret."

Luigi looked around, trying to find out where the voice came from. Mario looked up, but kept his hand on the princess. Daisy tilted her head at the rock and quickly figured out what it was. It wasn't a rock, it was a _speaker_.

"I plead guilty to the invasion of privacy," the voice spoke again, sounding anything _but _guilty. The Mario Brothers looked at each other as they realized that the voice sounded throughout the cave, making it shake slightly. "But, I've been watching all four of you very closely, and I've thought about it long and hard. I've decided to let you live."

A small pause,

"For now, that is."

Daisy stood up. Her gloves were ripped open, making her scoff and toss them to the side. "I don't know what you're talking about –"

"I don't think he can hear you, Daisy," Luigi interjected.

"Oh no," the voice muttered, "I can hear all of you just fine."

After a brief moment of silence, the voice spoke again. "Allow me to explain: this very cave that you are all trapped in used to be a studio. A few idiots wanted shoot a documentary up here or something. They set up speakers, cameras, and microphones everywhere. It's all wired in the walls. It was just a coincidence that you four happened to all get trapped in here, but I'm using it to my advantage. This place is already rigged with traps, so if you don't entertain me . . ."

The voice trailed off. Daisy heard a clanking noise above her. She looked up for a split second and dove out of the way. A large platform covered in spikes slammed down, hitting the rocky earth with a loud _clank_.

Luigi looked up, noticing a few spikes poking out from the rocks above him. "Entertain?" He said in a fearful voice.

Mario's tone was gone, but he was still serious. "We are not you're play things, Bowser."

Bowser only laughed. "Now you are. If I get bored of you, I'll just send the whole thing crashing down, killing you all in the process."

Daisy snapped, "You're _sick!_"

Another laugh from the Koopa King, giving the cave shakes again.

"If you bore me, and I know you probably won't, I'll just cancel the show. It's a simple rule, guys."

Luigi felt another tear roll down his cheek, "_Cancel the show?_"

Bowser tried to imitate the sound the spikes made as they hit the ground. It sounded something like an explosion instead, but the three got the point.

"It's night time, kids. Get some rest, and no funny business. I'm tired myself." Staring at couple of old TV screens somehow drained Bowser's energy. He yawned and the three heard him get up from his chair. Just before he left, he said something else into his microphone.

"You also might need this," and they heard a button be pushed.

A small stream of water flowed down from one of the small holes in the wall. Bowser had officially let them be and they heard a door slam in the background.

* * *

**I made a small and subtle edit to the last chapter, but feel free to point out anything that's wrong or weird. I'll try my best to fix it and when I finish writing this, I'll go back an revise it. It's just that now school is starting back up again, I don't really have the time to look over my notes and fix things. **

**All reviews are welcome!**

**- Great Mistake**


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